CBI bribery case: ‘Happened because of Asthana name… Money may have been exchanged’https://indianexpress.com/article/india/cbi-special-director-rakesh-asthana-bribery-case-conversation-transcript-5434032/

Related News

Parts of transcripts in CBI officer A K Bassi’s petition before Supreme Court.

October 19, 6.08 pm: “Samant bhaiya was so angry… this idiot, why didn’t he mention to you that CBI chaps have called.”

Advertising

October 20, 10.10 am: “…Papa, this whole matter has happened because of Asthana’s name. Bhaiya must have got that done… so probably, money may have been exchanged there.”

October 20, 10.10 am: “…this has to be given to Asthana and a lot of pressure is coming on me from there, that it has to be given.”

THESE ARE some of the key excerpts from transcripts of purported conversations among those allegedly linked to the case of bribery levelled against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana by the agency in its FIR filed on October 15.

Advertising

Parts of these transcripts were included in the writ petition filed in the Supreme Court on October 30 by CBI DySP Ajay Kumar Bassi, who was the investigating officer in the Asthana bribery case.

Bassi had moved the Supreme Court to seek quashing of his transfer to Port Blair on October 23, when two of the CBI’s top officers — Director Alok Kumar Verma and Asthana — were sent on leave after levelling serious allegations against each other.

You might like

On October 31, The Indian Express had reported on a key line from these transcripts of purported phone conversations of Someshwar Prasad, the brother of alleged Dubai-based middleman Manoj Prasad who is said to have close links with senior officers in the CBI. “Asthana toh apna aadmi hai (Asthana is our man),” read the line from a purported conversation on Someshwar’s phone that was placed under surveillance by the CBI.

The transcripts suggest alleged links between R&AW officer Samant Kumar Goel and Asthana in the bribery case in which the CBI Special Director was named Accused No.1.

The case is based on a complaint from Hyderabad businessman Sathish Babu Sana, who alleged in a statement before a Delhi magistrate on October 4 that Rs 5 crore had been demanded from him on behalf of Asthana and DySP Devender Kumar. Kumar, who was arrested on October 22, was the investigating officer in the Moin Qureshi case as part of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Asthana.

The CBI’s FIR mentions Goel’s name and identifies Someshwar and Manoj as alleged conduits for the bribe. The transcripts are of purported conversations between October 17 and 20, and refer to conversations between Someshwar, his father Dineshwar Prasad who was with R&AW till 2000, his father-in-law Sunil Mittal, and his sister Suman.

The Central Bureau of Investigation headquarters in New Delhi. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal/File)

Someshwar did not respond to calls and text messages from The Indian Express seeking comment on the transcripts.

Responding to the charges in the Delhi High Court, where he sought quashing of the FIR, Asthana alleged that the FIR showed “how the highest officer of the premier investigating agency of the country” was trying to falsely implicate him, the second most senior officer of the agency, to hide his “own criminal misconduct of influencing investigations in exchange for money”.

Referring to parts of the transcripts in his petition before the Supreme Court, Bassi alleged that “there is a strong chance that they (CBI) may not place them on record”.

‘These chaps are all notorious’

October 17, 7.03 pm. From the transcript of a purported conversation between Someshwar and Dineshwar indicating that Samant Goel has allegedly been in touch with Someshwar, even after Manoj had been arrested. Goel is referred to as a batchmate of Asthana:

Someshwar: “(Samant Goel) bolte hain ki… woh jo hai unka batchmate hai na jo Asthana hai… special director hai… next in line jo hai… toh bole ki maine usko bola ki zara dekho issey yeh family matter hai… yeh mera personal family ka matter hai. To isko dekho zara… toh usne dekh-ke bataya. Usne bataya ki mujhe pata hain yeh saara kaun kar raha hai… kyun ho raha hai…Woh chakkar hai (Samant Goel says that… his batchmate is there who is Asthana… he is Special Director (of CBI)… he is next in line (to be CBI Director)… So said that I have told him that please look into this, it is a family matter… this is a family matter… of my personal family… So look into this a bit… so he looked into it and said. That was it. That is the matter.”

Someshwar: “Woh kah rahe thay ki chinta mat karo… I know… Bata rahe thay ki uncle ka bhi phone aaya thaa… baat hui thi… and I am feeling bad… ki this is something which is… I have capacity… I have limitation to help this matter… because jitne bhi bande hain sab notorious hain… jo agency waale hain… toh kah rahe thay ki ismein… beyond a point I cannot go… pata lage kal ka mera naam chaap diya… toh wo chakkar hai… aur ED ko jo head hai… inka batchmate hai… (He was saying that do not worry… I know… he was saying that uncle had also called on phone… they had spoken… and I am feeling bad… that this is something which is… I have capacity… I have limitation to help this matter… because all these chaps who are there are all notorious… these are people from the agency… so he was saying that in this… beyond a point I cannot go… what if we know that tomorrow my name is also printed… that is the issue… and the ED head… he is his batchmate).”